Ornamental device or pompon



T. A. BOWERS.

ORNAMENTAL DEVICE 0R POMPON.

APPLICATION FLLED OCT. 22, |920.

1,395,033, Patented Aoon I25, 1921.

'F135 7. Fig. 2'.

Invenor;l y Thomas A. Bowel by Atltys.

PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS A. BOVERS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

i ORNAMENTAL DEVICE or. roMPoN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

Application filed October 22, 1320. Serial No. 418,757.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS A. BOWERS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Ornamental Devices or Pompons, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, 1s a specification, like characters on the drawing representing` like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in ornamental devices, such as pom-pons, tufts, or tassels, and the object thereof is to provide an ornamental device of this character in which the fibers or strands will be firmly fixed in place so that the strands of fiber lying in the centralportion of the ornament cannot be detached.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which can be rapidly constructed at a minimum cost of labor.

A further Vobject of the invention is to provide a novel form of binder which will more effectively grip upon the strands of fiber of which the device is composed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of ornament or pompon in which the same number of fibers may be caused to present a larger area of ornamental surface than in devices heretofore produced.

@ther objects and features of the invention will more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and -will be more particularly pointed out in the annexed claims. 1

A preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated herein as applied to an ornamental pom-pon or tuft, such as are commonly used in ornamenting ladies slippers, and various other devices.

In the drawings:

Figure l illustrates a pom-pon comprising a bundle of fibers bound together by a binder located an equal distance from each end of said bundle,

Fig. 2V is a similar view of a pom-pon in which the binder is located more nearly adjacent one end of the bundle than to the other,

Fig. 3 is a view of the bundle illustrated in' Fig. l and opened out to form a pom-pon ready for application to a shoe or other device` Fig. 4 is a view of the bundle illustrated in Fig. 2 opened outas in Fig. 3 to form a pom-pon and in which the fibers of the longer end of the bundle project beyond the substantially spherical sector produced by theV opened out fibers of the shorter end of the bundle,

Fig. 5 is a view of a pom-pon formed from the bundle illustrated in Fig. 2 in which the fibers of the longer end are bent upwardly so that their extremities lie substantially in the same spherical sector as that produced by the opened out fibers of the shorter end of the bundle,

Fig. 6 illustrates a rectangular binder having a roughened, substantially fla-t, fiber-engaging surface,

Fig. T is an enlarged detail view of several strands of material showing the manner in which the strands are deformed by the compression of the bundle.

The present invention contemplates theA production of an ornamental device comprising a plurality of parallel strands of fibrous material which are secured together intermediate of their ends by a binder of such character, and applied under such compression, as tojhold all of the fibers in the bundles securely in place.

I am aware that heretofore pom-pons and other devices comprising a bundle of fibers bound in the middle have been produced. In such cases, however, the binder has merely been wrapped around the bundles of fiber and the strands of fiber at the center of the bundle are not held with such sufficient force to prevent them from becoming' loosened and from being pulled out.

The present invention consists in the production of a pom-pon or other ornamental device comprising a series of parallel strands of fibrous material which are compressed at a point intermediate of their ends with sufficient force to deform the strands and which are bound together so as to cause interengagement of the material of adjacent strands. Preferably the ornamental devices are composed of a fibrous material, such as silk, having a gummy constituent, which will eXude from the body of the fibers, when subjected to a heavy pressure, andwill act as an adhesive to join or cement adjacent fibers together. Thus a bundle is produced in which the fibers are all firmly anchored within the binder. A bundle of this character is illustrated in Fig. l which comprises a series of parallel strands of fibrous material bound by a metallic binder 1 to form a sheaf comprismg reversely arranged conical end portions 2, 3,

the binder being pressed upon the bundle,

- with suiiicient force to deform the individual fibers as illustrated in Fig. 10. V'Vhen the bundle has been formed as illus trated in Fig. 1 the fibers of the cone 2 may be opened out to produce a substantially hemispherical ornament such as is illustrated in Fig. 3, the fibers of the cone 3 being bent upwardly into a substantially fiat plane.

The ornament may be secured to any suit l5 able base, such as the toe portion of a shoe, by staples 4, or other fastener, embracing the portion of the strands of the lower section 3 of the bundle, orwthe ornament may be secured in place by a fastener driven through the central portion of the bundle.

The binder preferably is of non-circular form and desirably presents a substantially y fiat fiber-engaging surface which will grasp the fibers more firmly than would a fiat or convex surface.

Several preferred forms of binders are illustrated herein. In Fig. 6 a binder 5 in Vtheform of a rectangle havingoverlapping ends and provided with a corrugatedl or ribbed inner face 6 is illustrated.

.KA non-circular binder is preferable as the binder is prevented from rotation upon the bundle even though thesize of the bundle should shrink by age. Y

A further feature ofvmy invention consists in Vproducing a novel form of pom-pon or other ornamental device which presents a base portion of larger diameter than the openedup section of the bundle, and a fur- 40 therbbject of the invention resides in the production of a novel pom-pon presenting a greater lcurved area than has heretofore beenproduced from the same amount of material. These features of the invention .15 are illustrated in Figs. 2, l1 and 5. Fig. 2

illustrates a bundle of strands of fibrous material having a preferably metal binder 12 'compressed about it at a distance from the middle of the bundle so that the sections of 5o the strands forming the upper cone 13 are considerably shorter than the sections of the strands comprising the lower portions 14cof the bundle. The device may be opened out, vas illustrated in Fig. A, by spreading the endsvof the strands 13 forming the upper end of the bundle into a substantially hemispherical formv and bending the strands forming the lower section 14C of the same into a substantially horizontal plane. Under such condition the-ends of the strands of the longer section 14 project a distanceV opened out ends of the section 13, thereby presenting the effect of a fiange or border 15, surrounding the hemispherical portion.

By binding thebundle at a predetermined distance from the center a massive pom-pon may be produced, particularly if gummy fibers,such as silk, are employed, or if nonresinous fibers are` so treated so as to take a permanent set when bent. A device of this character is illustrated in Fig. y5 in which the fibers or strands 14 of the longer end areof such length that when bent upwardly their extremities will form a continuation vof the convex surface produced by the extremities of the opened up shorter end 13. p

-In the production of a pom-pon of this character the bundle is placed upon a revolving needle which causes the fibers to standout radially from the binder. A cup orringis then forced over the device bending the lower portion 14: into the form illustrated in Fig. 5. While thus retained by the ring the pom-pon is dipped intok hot water, or other suitable liquid, which will causethe fibers to have a permanent set. It.

may then be secured to the device that it is to ornament in any usual manner.

lt will be understood that the embodiment ofthe invention disclosed herein is of an illustrative character and not restrictive and that various modifications in construction and arrangement of parts may be made Within the meaning and scope ofthe following claims. Y

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is: l Y v 4'1 An ornamental device of the class described comprising a bundle of parallel sill; strands secured together intermediate of their ends by a metallic binder compressed thereupon with suflicientforce to cause the gunimy constituent of the silk fibers to eX- ude,thereby causing said strands to adhere to' one another.l

2; Anornamental device of the class described comprising a bundle of strands of fiber of `substantially, equal length having even ends secured together by a binder lo- Ycated closer to one end of the bundle than t0 the other, the position Vof said binder being such that when the rlonger ends are bent around saidrbinder the extremities of saidfiber ends willflie substantiallyr within an extension of the curved sector produced by the opening upy of the free ends of the fibers forming the shorter po-rtion of the bundle. VIn testimony whereof, I have signed my name to thisY specification. Y

THOMAS A. BOWERS. 

